CREATING CONSTRUCTIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE OF COIMBATORE-BASED IT PROFESSIONALS

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1 CREATING CONSTRUCTIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE OF COIMBATORE-BASED IT PROFESSIONALS K.Gunasundari 1 and M.Muthumani 2 1 Assistant Professor, Karpagam Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu gunambahr@gmail.com 2 Assistant Professor, Maharaja Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu muthumbahr@gmail.com ABSTRACT Leaders play an important role in influencing a positive workplace especially in IT industry. The research suggests that leaders and management should created a supportive and encouraging environment by providing their employees an opportunity to expand their minds and abilities, to assume responsibility for their own actions, and to find innovative ways to do their work. Team Leaders should have attention on employees or team members to build relationships. Coimbatore plays significant role in software exports next to Chennai. Coimbatore is cost effective when compare to other cities with moderate climate, infrastructure facilities, educational institutions and skilled manpower. In this study an attempt is made to explore the creating constructive work environment to improve quality of work life of it professionals. The study is based on 120 respondents from Coimbatore-based IT companies. The samples are selected based on convenient sampling method and tools like simple percentage, chi-square and correlation are used. The study reveals that there is positive correlation between conducive work environment and mode to improve quality of work life(flex time, Job enrichment, Job rotation, Autonomous work groups, Management of employee stress, Career growth and development, Smooth relation with supervisor, Relationship between colleagues & Balance between Work and Non-Work Life. Improving work environment will emphasis in improving individual employees along with organization. Keywords: Work Environment, IT employees, Quality of Work life. INTRODUCTION One of the more stressful professions today is in the Information Technology (IT) field. As technology advanced rapidly, there was a high demand for programmers and engineers. Most had their choice of high-paying jobs as technology companies competed to recruit the best of them. Today, an organization s success depends on the cooperative wisdom of all its employees. Supportive environment play an important role in guiding employees to use their combined power effectively and in developing an environment that fosters trust and respect 57

2 A key motivator for all generations was the capability to do challenging, inspiring, and varied work. In IT industry most of the employees spend more than one-third of their waking hours each week doing work. However, the motivators appeared to be quite different for each generation group which supports research on differences in generational motivators. Excellent leaders not only loved what they were doing but wanted to share their enthusiasm with others. They were expressively connected to others and inspired them to become part of a community that was contributing to something worthwhile. In general, these leaders tended to have open minds that welcomed new thoughts rather than closed minds that criticized new ideas. They tended to care about others and built personal relations versus maintaining emotional distance. Management Role to Develop Work Environment QWL implies that the work conditions are favorable and that management caters for all the needs of the people. The workplace is an important focus of an adult s life, through the time and commitment involved and the economic benefits that employment brings. The costs of mental health problems extends from the individual s lost working time, the costs on their family to provide care and support for them, through to their employers, through lost productivity, and to the community, through greater healthcare costs (De Vries & Wilkerson, 2003; World Health Organization, 2001). The workplace can also provide conditions and relationships that increase wellbeing and mental health, through greater autonomy on the job, social support from colleagues and greater income (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006). Human resource departments are involved with efforts to improve productivity through changes in employee relations. QWL means having good supervision, good working conditions, good pay and benefits and an interesting, challenging and rewarding job. High QWL is sought through an employee relations philosophy that encourages the use of QWL efforts, which are systematic attempts by an organization to give workers greater opportunities to affect their jobs and their contributions to the organization s overall effectiveness. That is, a proactive human resource department finds ways to empower employees so that they draw on their brains and wits, usually by getting the employees more involved in the decision-making process. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Harrison (2000), agree that safe and healthy work conditions have a significant impact on QWL. Newell (2002) highlights that QWL involves making improvements to the physical working conditions under which employees operate in order to make their work setting more favorable. Kewly (1993) suggest that a high QWL is likely to occur when amongst other factors such as job involvement and democratic supervision and a safe working environment is experienced. Harrison (2000) focusing upon the measurement of QWL suggests that by asking employees their opinions surrounding their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their work environment, can lead to an increased sense of belonging to the organization and in conjunction with other employee-centered areas can lead to an overall perception of QWL. Cunningham, J.B. and T. Eberle, (1990) described that, the elements that are relevant to an individual s quality of work life include the task, the physical work environment, social environment within the organization, administrative system and relationship between life on and off the job. 58

3 Chan, C.H. and W.O. Einstein, (1990) pointed out QWL reflects a concern for people s experience at work, their relationship with other people, their work setting and their effectiveness on the job. Hackman and Oldhams (1980) highlight the constructs of QWL in relation to the interaction between work environment and personal needs. The work environment that is able to fulfill employees personal needs is considered to provide a positive interaction effect, which will lead to an excellent QWL. They emphasized that the personal needs are satisfied when rewards from the organization, such as compensation, promotion, recognition and development meet their expectations. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1. To analyze constructive work environment to improve quality of work life of it professionals. 2. To study an insight on the various factors that result in good quality of work life. 3. To find out factors that result work environment that enhances quality of work life. 4. To suggest the IT professionals with suitable measures to improve quality of work life. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY It covers the employees who are working in Coimbatore IT companies. The researcher selected 120 samples from employees through convenient sampling method. Descriptive research design is used. The data is collected by using primary data from structured questionnaire. Respondents were contacted personally and smooth rapport was developed with employees during research period. The information was collected with employees during rest time, lunch break, on the way to company and while returning to home. The secondary data is adopted to get information regarding employees opinion towards working environment and practical views towards quality of work life practices followed in IT companies. The data has also been through the books, internet, and journals. Tables are of immense help to analysis by using the statistics tools help to analysis by using the statistics tools. The study was conducted for period of 2 months. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS Demographic Profile of the Sample Respondents The demographic variables like, gender, age, educational qualification, marital status, monthly salary and experience are taken into consideration for the study. As gender is considered it is grouped into male and female. The respondents age is divided into four groups like Below 20 years, years, years and Above 41 years. The educational details of sample respondents are categorized into three categories like UG degree, PG degree and professional. The marital status of the sample respondents are grouped as married and unmarried. The respondent s monthly income is segregated into Below Rs.15000, , and & above. The experienced is grouped into Below 1 years, 1-5 years, 6-10 years and Above 11 years. Table showing demographic variables of the respondents 59

4 Table 1. Demographic Variables of the Respondents Factors Description No. of Respondents Percentage Gender Male Female Age(years) Below Above Educational qualification Marital Status Monthly Income(RS) Experience UG Degree PG Degree Professionals Married Unmarried Below Above Below 1 years Above 11 As gender is considered, 65% of sample respondents are comes under male category and remaining 35% are female employees taken for the study. The table 1 depicts that out of 120 sample respondents taken for study 12% are comes under age group of below 20 years, 43% of respondents age is in between 21 years 30 years, 36% of respondents age is in between years of age group and balance 9% of respondents age is above 41 years. Out of sample respondent of 120, 13% of respondents are qualified till UG degree, whereas 33% of respondent s educational qualification is PG degree and remaining 54% of sample respondents are professional who are working in Coimbatore IT companies. 44% of the respondents are married and remaining 56% of the respondents are unmarried. The table shows 15% of sample respondents are earning monthly income below % of respondents salary is in between per month, 36% of respondents earn about per month and balance 25% of respondents are earning above in a month. As experience is considered 15% of the respondents are having below one year of experience, 53% of the respondents experience is between 1 5 years, 29% of respondents experience is in between 6 10 years and remaining 3% of the respondents experience is above 11 years. Favorable Work Environment The favorable work environment that is able to fulfill employees work needs, personal needs, and social needs as it is considered to provide a positive interaction effect, which will lead to an excellent QWL. 12 statements are framed to find out the relationship between favorable work environment and quality of work life. The respondents are asked to answer with five point Likert scale containing from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. The

5 following statements like building an environment of trust, conducive work environment, create team spirit, encourage an attitude of cooperation, give recognition and appreciation, motivate excellent job performance, provide a positive physical environment, openness and safety environment, equal treatment, being respected and valued, accessible and approachable and fun at work place are taken into consideration. The table 2 depicts that 45(38%), 30(25%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding building an environment of trust, 35(29%), 30(25%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, towards they have Conducive work environment,38(32%), 29(24%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Create team spirit, 40(33%), 30(25%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Encourage an attitude of cooperation, 39(33%), 22(18%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Give recognition and appreciation, 35(29%), 25(21%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Motivate excellent job performance, 30(25%), 28(23%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding provide a positive physical environment, 45(38%),25(21%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Openness and safety environment, 30(25%), 35(29%), of the respondents are strongly agree and Agree regarding Equal treatment, 30(25%), 30(25%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Being respected and valued, 40(33%), 23(19%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree regarding Accessible and approachable, 26(22%), 25(21%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree regarding Fun at work place. Table 2. Favorable Work Environment Particulars Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Building an environment of 45(38) 30(25) 20(17) 10(8) 15(13) trust Conducive work 35(29) 30(25) 25(21) 15(13) 15(13) environment Create team spirit 38(32) 29(24) 28(23) 16(13) 9(8) Encourage an attitude of 40(33) 30(25) 25(21) 20(17) 5(4) cooperation Give recognition and 39(33) 22(18) 23(19) 24(20) 12(10) appreciation Motivate excellent job 35(29) 25(21) 20(17) 22(18) 18(15) performance Provide a positive physical 30(25) 28(23) 30(25) 25(21) 7(6) environment Openness and safety 45(38) 25(21) 25(21) 13(11) 12(10) environment Equal treatment 30(25) 35(29) 30(25) 12(10) 13(11) Being respected and valued 30(25) 30(25) 30(25) 15(13) 15(13) Accessible and 40(33) 23(19) 15(13) 22(18) 20(17) approachable Fun at work place 26(22) 25(21) 24(20) 19(16) 26(22) 61

6 Mode to Improve Quality of Work Life The table 3 depicts that 40(33%), 30(25%)of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Flex time, 35(29%), 39(33%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Job enrichment,30(25%), 30(25%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Job rotation, 25(21%), 45(38%), of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Autonomous work groups, 27(23%), 26(22%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Management of employee stress, 30(25%), 30(25%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Career growth and development, 35(29%), 25(21%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Smooth relation with supervisor, 33(28%),39(33%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Relationship between colleagues, 35(29%), 30(25%) of the respondents are strongly agree, Agree, regarding Balance between work and non-work life. Table 3. Mode to Improve Quality of Work Life Particulars Strongly Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Agree Disagree Flex time 40(33) 30(25) 25(21) 15(13) 10(8) Job enrichment 35(29) 39(33) 15(13) 16(13) 15(13) Job rotation 30(25) 30(25) 31(26) 13(11) 16(13) Autonomous work groups 25(21) 45(38) 20(17) 12(10) 18(15) Management of employee stress 27(23) 26(22) 24(20) 23(19) 20(17) Career growth and development 30(25) 30(25) 30(25) 16(13) 14(12) Smooth relation with supervisor 35(29) 25(21) 22(18) 18(15) 20(17) Relationship between colleagues 33(28) 39(33) 35(29) 7(6) 6(5) Balance between work and non-work life 35(29) 30(25) 28(23) 14(12) 13(11) Co-Efficient of Correlation Relationship between Conducive Work Environment and Mode to Improve Quality of Work Life The table 4 shows that r value (0.98, 0.82, 0.89, 0.65, 0.92, 0.91, 0.89,0.98) is positive, which indicate that there is positive correlation between conducive work environment and mode to improve quality of work life(flex time, Job enrichment, Job rotation, Autonomous work groups, Management of employee stress, Career growth and development, Smooth relation with supervisor, Relationship between colleagues & Balance between Work and Non-Work Life). It shows that both variable moves in a same direction. 62

7 Table 4. Relationship between Conducive Work Environment and Mode to Improve Quality of Work Life Particulars R value Results Flex time Positive Job enrichment Positive Job rotation Positive Autonomous work groups Positive Management of employee stress Positive Career growth and development Positive Smooth relation with supervisor Positive Relationship between colleagues Positive Balance between Work and Non-Work Life Positive Chi Square Analysis Demographic Variables and Favorable Work Environment The table 5 shows that there is a Significance relationship between Age and Being respected and valued(407.42), Marital status and Balance between work and non-work life(12.81), Marital status and Flex time(16.070), Gender and Equal Treatment(26.763), Marital status and Equal treatment(22.875) because of calculated value is greater than the table value. So framed null hypothesis can be rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted. There is a no Significance relationship between Experience and Career growth and development (14.32) because of calculated value is less than the table value. So the framed null hypothesis is accepted. Table 5. Demographic Variables and Favorable Work Environment Particulars Degree of Table Chi square Significance freedom value value Age and Being respected and Significant valued Marital status and Balance Significant between work and non-work life Experience and Career growth and development Not Significant Marital status and Flex time Significant Gender and Equal Treatment Significant Marital status and Equal treatment Significant FINDINGS Majority of the respondents are strongly agreed regarding their conducive work environment & building an environment of trust.38% of the respondents are strongly agreed regarding 63

8 positive physical environment.29% of the respondents are strongly agreed regarding balance between work and non- work life. Most of the respondents are strongly agree regarding their relationship between colleagues & supervisor. RECOMMEMDATIONS Workers should be treated well and give due respect to them. They should have some sense of belongingness in organization. The workers attitude should be developed positively so that both individual and organizational objectives can be achieved easily. Provide some chances to increase their special abilities, motivate employees by providing rewards for innovative works, inviting for brainstorming sessions, counseling to improve their hidden talents, these all would help the employees to come out with new skills and abilities which will take a path to increase individuals and organizational productivity. To improve work life balance management should take necessary steps to develop an effective relationship with employees and employer, supervisors should encourage them to accomplish the task in given time, a word of appreciation at the time of excellence will encourage them to put maximum effort. Management has to take some effective steps to consider employees promotion. As some of the respondents opinion are negative. Explore health-related options, including a wellness program and insurance Incentives. Incorporate an outside facilitator or coach into the employee program. Personnel are more willing to provide input to an outside source, and supervisors will gain from receiving anonymous feedback. Employers and employees should keep in mind that some level of stress or pressure is beneficial to reaching project completion. In moderation, stress creates the motivation to perform and be proud of the results. Be wise, however, about what leads to detrimental stress, including unrealistic goals and impossible expectations. CONCLUSION In the globalized era, human resources proved to be the vital assets of every organization. They are to be given due consideration which influence the organizational climate. So it becomes necessary to study the work life of individuals in the organization. Successful organizations support and provide facilities to their people to help them to balance the scales. In this process, organizations are coming up with new and innovative ideas to improve the quality of work and quality of work life of every individual in the organization. If the management adopts the given suggestions, it would help to increase the quality of work life of mine workers. REFERENCES 1. Berry, L. L, & Parasuraman, A. (1991). Marketing services: Competing through quality. New York: The Free Press. 2. Chan, C.H. and W.O. Einstein, Quality of Work Life (QWL): What can unions do? SAM Advanced Management J., 55: Cunningham, J.B. and T. Eberle, A guide to job enrichment and redesign. Personnel, 67: Eskildsen, J. K., & Dahlgaard, J. J. (2000). A causal model that uses cause and effect logic to describe the behavior of a system. For employee satisfaction. Total Quality Management, 11(8),

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